Does The Elliptical Work Your Stomach? (Interesting Facts)

There has been a growing popularity of elliptical trainers. People with full-time jobs, who do not get the time to visit the gym, often buy an elliptical trainer at home for the whole body workout. But some people often care about losing belly fat way more than other areas. So if you want to work the abdomen, will the elliptical help? Does the elliptical work your stomach?

Elliptical trainers work your whole body- legs, thighs, arms, back, and belly fat as well. It is an overall weight loss trainer that eventually contributes to helping you lose belly fat, by slowly working the abdomen but through some specified movements. 

Let me break it down for you in this article. Keep on reading to know how ellipticals can help in losing belly fat and learn the procedure of making elliptical trainers more effective for your stomach. Besides this, learn about some food habits that will help you lose stomach fat with an elliptical trainer faster.

How Does the Elliptical Help You Lose Belly Fat?

Elliptical trainers are mostly cardio machines that focus on your legs initially than the upper areas. But that does not mean it will not benefit your body and other stubborn areas like the stomach. It will.

These trainers burn tons of calories that always result in an overall decrease in weight, helping you lose fat from the entire body as a whole. In terms of belly fat- the stomach area, however, the concentration is not direct.

Walking, jogging or cycling was always advised for losing weight or concentrated fat before going to the gym became popular. And elliptical trainers are similar to jogging-like movements. Thus, elliptical trainers allow you to stimulate a movement in your body that slowly rises from your lower body up to your upper body.

If you want to make the concentration more specific for losing calories around the abdomen, then try to combine using the elliptical with other cardio workouts. I will give you more tips in the coming paragraphs where you can make the elliptical concentration more stomach-centered.

Tips On Making the Best Use of Your Elliptical for Your Stomach

As I have mentioned previously, if you want a more concentrated burn for your stomach, then there are a few things you need to do. I have listed a few tips that can be done directly while using elliptical trainers and also some workouts as interval training for more effectiveness. 

Before you apply any of the interval training workouts beforehand, I would advise you to do jumping jacks 10 – 20 times for increasing your heartbeat. If you jump right into a concentrated workout without any movement in your body, you might experience injuries or muscle pull.

However, if you are doing those workouts in the middle of elliptical training, then you do not need to do any warmup movement.

Elliptical Training Tips for Losing Belly Fat

Here are some ways you can work out a system to engage your core area through just elliptical training. The results however will be slow. Read them and see if you can manage to continue without losing hope, for guaranteed results.

  • Move Your Hands

If you are not willing and do not have the time to do any workout beforehand, then there are ways to make the elliptical itself engage your stomach. However, the process is slower.

Elliptical trainers come with handlebars. If your handlebar is a movable one, it is much better. But if they are not then you must improvise. As you start your movement and come in the hold of a rhythm in the movement, slowly let go of the handles. When you do that, use your arms to balance yourself with your movements.

As you move your arms in jogging-like gestures, you will feel a strain in your side waist that extends onto your abdomen area. This will ensure the work spreads along your stomach. The fats in the area will slowly give you a burning sensation.

  • Pedal Faster

Peddling faster raises your heartbeat. This keeps your body awake and running. As that happens, the muscles in your body stay on the edge, knowing that they are to work on the inside as well.

Also, it’s pretty obvious that the faster you pedal the more calories you burn. And the more calories you burn the leaner you become.

  • Pull in Your Belly Button

Engaging your muscle during elliptical training enhances blood flow to the muscle of that region. This promotes energy production and burning of fat. It also promotes muscle build up.

While breathing, mainly expiration, pull in your belly button as deep as you can and then breathout. Do this often while on the elliptical and you will have tremendous results. 

Do Some Interval Trainings

Many people underestimate the importance of interval training. These small exercises you do during brakes. They help keep your heart rate up even while you are taking a break from your elliptical and continue expending calories allowing you to lose more weight faster.

Here are some workouts you can perform during the breaks while you are using your elliptical. You also may do these workouts beforehand if you like.

  • Plank

Planks are considered the hardest, yet one of the most effective belly to whole body concentrated workouts. You can simply do a 30 – 60 seconds plank before you get on your elliptical trainer or even during a break. Plank burns on your whole body due to the position you are to be in while performing it.

The rules of plank make the belly fat concentration even more. You are to tuck in your belly when doing a plank while keeping the breathing stable. You will notice that your whole body aches, but your belly aches the most.

As you finish this 30 second to 1-minute exercise, you will then notice how much more concentrated elliptical trainers are for your stomach.

  • Crunches or Bicycle Crunches

Crunches are belly-centered workouts. If you do not have much time and want to get the workout over with just by using an elliptical trainer, then do this at first. Try to do 3 sets of 10 crunches before you start a 30 – 40 minutes’ elliptical exercise.

This gives your belly a warm-up as it works and feels pressured greatly during crunches. When you continue the workout in the elliptical, the abdomen keeps on running under pressure even if the elliptical does not work your abdomen directly.

One more piece of advice during the crunches is- pull in your belly button area- known as tightening your core. This puts more emphasis on your stomach and alerts the area on being worked.

One of the easiest and effective belly concentrated workouts that work great for your stomach are bicycle crunches. Try to do 10 and repeat for 3 sets. As you get on your feet and continue the burn with an elliptical trainer, you will feel pressure on your abdomen. Bicycle crunches are a little harder than crunches and easier than reverse crunches.

  • Sit-ups

Sit-ups are great workouts for belly fats. Sit-ups not only work the stomach area, but also your arms, lower abs, upper thighs, and help to strengthen your back. As you sit up, pull in your belly while keeping your breathing stable.

Try to do it 5 times and repeat for 3 sets in total. This is a great warm-up before getting on the elliptical and working the body. As you do sit-ups and alert your body on working the abs, the workout on the elliptical then enhances the pressure, making the belly fat dissolve faster.

Proper Diet to Help Lose Stomach Fat

It is said that a fit body is made through 80% good eating habits and only 20% depends on exercise. And so, to get better results through elliptical whole-body workouts, it is great if you avoid foods that contain fats that are hard to digest. The bad eating habits most of the time show up in our stomach, thigh, and face area.

Our bodies need a little bit of every nutrient- carbohydrate, protein, fiber, healthy fats, irons, and vitamins. However, when building muscles people suggest proteins are the best. But when losing general fats from specific places such as the stomach- carbohydrate intake, red meat, and excessively oily foods are suggested to be avoided.

A healthier diet will consist of a mix and match between everything- all the nutrients of fruits, and vegetables. That will help in an overall higher impact when you want to lose stomach fat. A green diet with an inclusion of proteins like- eggs, chicken, lentils, protein shakes, and carbohydrates like- rice, bread, potatoes, will give fast results.


Elliptical trainers are great for whole-body workouts- that also includes your stomach. Therefore, does the elliptical work your stomach? Absolutely. All you need is a system to work it for a more concentrated burn. Take it slow and follow my tips. I’m sure if you do everything correctly then your fat will be gone in no time.

Thanks for reading and best of luck with losing weight.

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